Chapter 230-2: Born A Warrior, Battle, Hell Yeah! (2) |
This victory had not been easy. Iron Armor’s strength and tenacity far exceeded his expectations.
Every collision of fists and feet, every dodge and counterattack replayed in his mind.
The water gradually warmed. Steam filled the shower, blurring the figure in the mirror.
He raised a hand, wiped the drops from his face, and looked at the scarred, sturdy body in the mirror.
His gaze finally fell on his callused, scarred palms. Each mark was a evidence of countless training sessions and battles.
He gently clenched his fist, felt the power at his fingertips, and a surge of indescribable satisfaction rose in his heart.
“Not enough.”
He murmured. His voice echoed in the empty shower.
Although he had won this battle, he knew his goal was far beyond this.
After rinsing off, Phase Kill shut off the tap and picked up a towel at hand, casually wiping his body.
Then he changed into clean clothes, returned to his room, walked to the window, and pushed it open.
The night wind brushed his face with a hint of coolness.
He looked up at the night sky dotted with stars. In the distance, the lights of tall buildings glittered. The bustle remained, yet he felt a peace he had never known.
Every time a hearty battle ended, it brought him unprecedented joy.
This was a combat instinct that had grown stronger with age.
He still remembered, when he was young, he naively asked his teacher why the Giant Brute race did not climb the road of modern technology and always wasted time on meaningless battles.
He said that no matter how strong the Giant Brute race’s fighting skills were, they still could not withstand the technological weapons of the Lunar Eclipse race, so what was the point of training.
Facing the question, the teacher was silent for a long time, then spoke seriously.
“Phase Kill, do you know why the Giant Brute race is born to be warriors.”
He remembered that the teacher did not wait for his answer and continued on his own.
“Combat, for us, is not only entertainment, nor only glory. It is a meaning that exists with us from birth.”
“The ancestors of the Giant Brute race once lived on a barren land. There were no abundant fruits there, no mild climate, only endless wilderness and ferocious beasts. Our ancestors did not choose to flee. With fists and will, they carved a place to live from that land. Combat is something etched into our bones.”
“In battle we feel pain and fear, yet it also brings us an elevation of strength.”
“Warriors of the Giant Brute race do not fight for slaughter, but to understand the meaning of life, because we have always believed that life is not a comfortable journey, but a cultivation of constantly breaking through the self. Earth’s environment is too comfortable, yet we have not forgotten our instincts. We build arenas because only in battle can we truly see ourselves.”
The teacher’s words were like a bolt of lightning that split the fog in his heart.
So he blurted out.
“Teacher, since the ancestors loved fighting, why did they flee to Earth instead of dying in battle in their homeland when the calamity came?”
He clearly remembered the wonderful expression on the teacher’s face upon hearing this.
After that he was hung from the ceiling and given a harsh beating by the teacher, and when his parents found out, he was thrashed again at home.
But he felt greatly wronged.
The older generation thought he had been impacted by outside cultures such as the Lunar Eclipse race and that his thinking had gone astray.
But he felt he was not wrong.
No matter how strong the body, it could not withstand the modern weapons of the Lunar Eclipse race. No matter how high the fighting skills, one could not evade the carpet bombing of modern weapons.
A purely entertaining combat project nonetheless consumed vast energy and money every year to hold various tournaments. It was simply driving history in reverse and refusing to make progress.
He felt the Giant Brute race should keep up with the times and learn from the Human race and other groups, actively embracing modern technology.
That was the future path for the Giant Brute race.
But as he grew older, he gradually understood the deeper meaning of what the teacher had said back then.
Battle is not a choice, but an instinct branded into the bones.
He discovered he was beginning to crave combat. With every breath he could feel the suppressed restlessness surging within.
This change once made him feel fear.
He tried to suppress the desire in his heart, only to find that the more he suppressed it, the stronger that craving became, surging like a flood against his reason.
Finally, during his graduation trip, he asked his parents for money and went to the Lunar Eclipse race to seek answers.
After a long appointment and wait, he entered the external medical center of Lunar Eclipse City.
A healer of the Lunar Eclipse race performed a comprehensive examination on him, then in a room full of technological feel gave a conclusion that shocked him.
He still remembered those words clearly.
“Phase Kill, the battle genes of the Giant Brute ancestors flow in your body. In ancient years, your ancestors experienced countless life-and-death struggles. Their bodies evolved through continuous combat. Their genes were altered by repeated stress responses. Increases in muscle strength, enhancements in reaction speed, heightened tolerance to pain, these advantages were selected and engraved into your bloodline.”
“Every generation of the Giant Brute race, from the moment of birth, carries in their bodies battle genes accumulated by their ancestors through countless fights. These genes not only shaped your robust physique, but also had a profound impact on you on the spiritual level.”
“These battle genes are also an inner driving force in your growth. They give you an instinctive craving for combat. As you age, these genes are gradually awakened and drive you to throw yourself into battle.”
He remembered he was silent for a long time, then softly asked the healer of the Lunar Eclipse race.
“Is this a curse?”
The healer of the Lunar Eclipse race shook his head upon hearing this and said firmly.
“No, this is a gift your Giant Brute ancestors left to their descendants. It is proof that you are connected by blood to your ancestors, and it is proof that your Giant Brute race was once strong and glorious.”
“Do not try to suppress it. Try to accept it, because this power is an inheritance engraved in your bloodline.”
“Remember, this is not a curse, but a blessing from your ancestors.”
These words were like a key that unlocked the shackles he had used to seal the beast in his heart.
He no longer resisted his inner desire and chose to actively embrace instinct.
Battle was no longer his burden, but his mission, a bond tying him to his ancestral bloodline.
From that moment on, he underwent a complete metamorphosis and proactively registered to become a fighter.
He no longer suppressed his power. Instead he released it to the fullest through combat, letting the flame of battle burn within.
Every fight driven by instinct was, in his eyes, a tribute to the ancestors and a recognition of the bloodline inheritance.
After that, he grew rapidly with talent surpassing his peers, until he stood at the pinnacle of the new generation in Bloodslaughter City.
His thoughts drifted back to the present. Gazing out at the night view, Phase Kill let out a wry laugh.
He had never imagined that the self who hated fighting most in his youth would walk this path.
Just as the teacher said back then, every member of the Giant Brute race is a born warrior.
Recently, the blood of battle rose to a higher level.
The reason was that he had encountered the virtual game Monster World.
The high spiritual energy environment seemed to activate the latent bloodline within him. The desire to fight burned within him like flames, growing ever fiercer.
The beast imprisoned in his heart completely broke free of its shackles.
Every time he entered the game, he could feel that slumbering power within gradually awakening.
Only this time he no longer resisted that feeling.
This game, Monster World, also made him understand how naive his youthful understanding of bodily strength had been.
Long years of peace and Earth’s weak spiritual energy severely weakened the robust physiques of the Giant Brute race.
The first generation of the Giant Brute race to descend to Earth remained in a constant state of hunger.
This hunger did not stem from a lack of food, but from the thinness of spiritual energy.
Their ancestors lived in a high spiritual energy environment, where the air was saturated with dense energy. With every breath they could feel spiritual energy flowing within, nourishing every inch of muscle and every bone.
The high spiritual energy environment also let their cells continue to evolve through repeated battles, becoming tougher and more explosive.
However, Earth’s spiritual energy environment is far inferior to the world where the ancestors lived.
Here the spiritual energy is so thin it is almost imperceptible. The bodies of the Giant Brute race are like high-performance engines filled with low-quality fuel.
Although they took in sufficient food, the energy contained in that food was far from meeting their bodies’ need for spiritual energy, resulting in hunger at the cellular level.
This slowed cellular metabolism and caused the strength of muscles and bones to decline day by day.
The body even began to degenerate to adapt to the environment.
Long-term life in a weak spiritual energy environment shifted the Giant Brute race’s bodily mechanisms from growth into energy-saving mode.
They began to reduce their need for spiritual energy.
This degeneration was especially evident in his generation.
This was why he felt that bodily strength was ultimately limited. No matter how strong the muscles, they could not withstand the ferocious bombardment of modern weapons.
But the high-energy environment of Monster World made him feel an unprecedented comfort.
He realized this was the power the ancestors once possessed.
Thinking carefully, it made sense. The ancestors had not studied any complex technology.
They could descend to Earth through a simple teleportation array.
This proved the ancestors blazed a trail with their bodies, crossed a spatial countercurrent, and descended to Earth. That alone showed how formidable the ancestors were.
Facts proved that a powerful body was enough to shake those powerful technological weapons.